Wrestle with this

by Phil Dimitriadis

I’ve noticed that there are some not so ‘closet’ wrestling fans on the Almanac site. I found this excellent article (click on the link below) that is well worth a read, particularly for its focus on the history of Wrestling in Australia. I will write a follow up soon on the symbolism, language and evolution of wrestling.

http://www.hyperhistory.org/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=716&op=page

About Phillip Dimitriadis

Carer/Teacher/Writer. Author of Fandemic: Travels in Footy Mythology. World view influenced by Johnny Cash, Krishnamurti, Larry David, Toni Morrison and Billy Picken.

Comments

  1. Damo Balassone says

    Good article Phil. This long history of Pro Wrestling does not surprise me. I think it’s in our nature to want to lock horns. Even Jacob wrestled with God.

    Re Australian pro-wrestling, those convict/soldier bouts would have been a sight to behold! Interesting that the Murray Weideman experiment was seen as setting back the industry. Most old-timers, i.e. my old man, often talk about his little foray in wrestling, so it must have at least raised the profile.

    The Gorgeous George section was great. His character obviously changed wrestling forever and must have been a huge influence when he came out here in ’56. As a sidenote he even inspired Bob Dylan when Dylan was a nobody. Dylan wrote about it in his bizarre memoirs Chronicles Volume 1, see below (I know I’m giving myself away as a Dylan fanatic here!):

    http://www.gorgeousgeorgebook.com/dylan.html

  2. dave latham says

    Gorgeous George sounds somewhat like Jack Johnson in his striking style.

    Johnson I think was the first professional fighter to dress like a dandy, amongst other things.

  3. Phil Dimitriadis says

    Sorry for taking so long to reply boys, but I was in the wilderness of Tassie for a week and gloriously unplugged from the matrix of technology.

    Great find Damo. To think that someone as influential as Dylan could be influenced by Gorgeous George. Never underestimate the symbolic power of a charismatic wrestler!

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